Lights Out
by majewel
Summary: Max will never complain about lights out again.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel or Power Rangers or anything related to either show. The two characters in the beginning are from the power rangers show or movie. The main character in this story is Max.

Timeline: After …And Jesus Brought a Casserole.

Lights Out

Elsewhere

"There has to be another way," the female says to her male companion. She stood at 5'9" with curly sandy blonde hair that stopped just past her shoulders. She wore a forest green cape that covered the barely concealing outfit she wore. The outfit was forest green in color and looked like a bikini. Her male companion also wore a black cape and stood at 5'11". He was more conservative in the way he dressed. Under his cape he wore a formal black suit with a black magician's hat covering his bald head.

"I wish there was another way," the man responds.

"Won't it mess with the timeline," the female asks with a slight Australian accent.

"It's risky but it's the only option we have," the man replies as a blast outside the room causes the two to fall back. Quickly the two scramble back to the screen they are watching and gets to work.

"I just hope we finish in time," the man replies gloomily turning his attention back to the screen.

Manticore

My name is Max. I'm a genetically engineered killing machine created by the government and what am I doing. I'm lying in a cell. I would rather be hanging out with Original Cindy or even Sketchy. I wouldn't even mind doing an 'eyes only' mission right now if it would get me out of this hell hole. But I'm not because Zack, Krit, Syl, and I had infiltrated Manticore, the organization that created us. Our mission was to destroy the facility but something went terribly wrong. As a result, only Krit and Syl made it out. Zack and I weren't so lucky. I was shot during the mission and in order for me to live Zack had sacrificed his life. The one upside to being a transgenic is that all transgenics are universal donors. Zack knew this and knew that his death would guarantee my survival. That had all happened months ago.

It is dark outside and time for lights out at the facility. I love and hate lights out. The reason I love lights out is because it gives me a chance to rest and recuperate from the rigorous drills that everyone is made to go through. Mine are more intense than the others because the people upstairs feel that I have a lot of lost time to make up for. Lights out is a waste of a good night which is why I hate it. It's not like I needed to rest. When we were younger Jondy and I never needed much sleep to feel refreshed. We used to joke with the rest of our unit that we had shark DNA. Jondy used to say that I had more sharks DNA than her because I needed even less sleep than she did. But, here I was locked up in a cage like some kind of animal. Since I couldn't do anything about it I thought about my friends on the outside and what I could do if I hadn't been confined to this cell. I was so deep in thought that I barely heard the lock click and my cell door open.

Instantly I became alert. Getting up quickly and quietly I slowly creep towards the door. For five full minutes I stood by the door listening while barely breathing. I couldn't hear anything other the breathing of the other transgenics sleeping soundly. Positive that it is safe I cautiously peek around the corner to make sure the coast is clear. As I look around I notice that all the lights are out except one.

"I wonder why that one is still on," I whisper hopefully not too loud. I wouldn't want to wake anyone else up.

"Finally something to do," I say just as quietly. At least I can have some fun tonight. Slowly I walk towards the room in which the light is shining. The closer I get to the room the further away the light gets. Following the light through several buildings I listen for the slightest signs of trouble. The light leads me outside through the woods surrounding the compound and to the other side where the old abandoned buildings are. It seems that no matter how fast or slow I walk I could never get close enough to the moving light.

Finally I enter an abandoned building that looks like it could crumble at any moment. The light is up ahead in the only room in the building. Walking towards the light I notice that it's not moving anymore, whoever was carrying it had finally gotten to their destination? _What anyone would want in this old dingy building is beyond me._ Crouching I make my way to the door. Peeping around the corner there is table located in the middle of the room and the lamp sitting on it. In the corner of the room is a machine with foreign markings on it.

Elsewhere

The two figures watched as Max went to investigate the machine.

"Everything is set," the female informs her companion as the room is rocked with another explosion. The two continue to watch as the machine comes to life startling Max. The doors behind Max close blocking her escape.

"Why did you do that?" the woman questions her friend.

"To narrow down her choices," he answers simply as the two continue to watch the screen.

Manticore

I was expecting to turn around and see myself surrounded by X7's, Renfro's choice of security, when I heard the door close behind me. I don't know if I should be relieved that I'm alone or freaked out. Turning my attention back to the machine the bright lights emanating from it is dancing inviting me closer. I was right upon the machine when something hit me in the head. Looking up I see pieces of the ceiling falling away. My first instinct is to get out of the room but the pieces are falling too fast. Quickly I jump into the machine hoping it is strong enough to protect me from the falling debris. As soon as I enter the machine to door closes and the lights become so bright that I have to shield my eyes.

"I should have stayed in my cell," Max practically shouts. "I'll never complain about lights out again." Suddenly there is a big flash and the building collapses. When Max uncovers her eyes she is standing outside in a park at night.

Reviews are welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

2002

"What is the world," Max mutters to while taking in her surroundings. It was dark and she found herself surrounded by trees and the greenest grass she has ever seen. Extra alert in her new surroundings Max sets out to find some food. She hadn't really eaten anything in the mess hall that night so she was a little hungry. As if agreeing her stomach chooses that moment to growl. She walks for ten minutes before entering a gas station. The clerk's attention was on two of the other customers. Walking to the back she grabs a drink when the door opens and a female walks in. The woman was a 5'10" European America with jet black hair that stopped in the middle of her back. Max had moved over to the junk food aisle and grabbed some stuff. The woman walks up Max's aisle heading to the cooler to get a drink. Max pauses what she's doing as the woman passes. The woman then proceeds down the aisle across from Max to the front register. Max uses this time to exit the store. The next thing Max hears is a shout. Looking back she sees the clerk looking at her and the woman handing him money. Walking away from the gas station Max pulls out the drink. She looked at the date and noticed that the year says 2002. Drinking it Max concludes that she must have been sent back in time because the drink didn't have an expired taste to it. Now that she had food Max decided to look for a place to spend the rest of the night.

The next few weeks were hard for Max because she couldn't find a place to stay since nobody wanted to rent to someone without a job. She couldn't find a job because no one wanted to give work to someone who had no home. Max thought about going back to the life of crime that she was familiar with in Seattle but decided against it for two reasons. One, she didn't want to draw unneeded attention to herself in this new place and two; she didn't have any contacts to fence her stolen goods to. Max was about to give up all hope and turn back to the life of crime when she saw a sign hanging in the window of a nightclub called "The Hangout." The job was advertising for bartenders. She had once read a book about making all types of drinks and her photographic memory insured that she would never forget. It was around 5pm in the afternoon and the club had not opened yet.

"Hi," Max says walking up to the man lifting the box and carrying it inside. He was a tall light skinned African American and stood at 6'0". She follows him inside and waits until he sits the box down. "I'm here to apply for the bartenders' position." Up close she could see that his eyes were a hazel brown color and even though his hair was cut short you could still tell that it was curly.

"Hey Bobby," the man calls over his shoulder.

"What Rick," another man comes from a room behind the bar looking identical to Bobby.

"She applying for the bartender's position," Bobby says looking down at Max.

"Really," Rick replies to Bobby. "Well Helaina isn't in right now."

"Do you know when she'll be available," Max asks getting annoyed. She really hated when people toyed with her.

"She should be back in a few minutes," Rick informs Max. "You can wait if you want."

"Fine with me," Max replies taking a seat in one of the booths.

Less than ten minutes later a tall female walks into the room. Barely glancing in Max's direction she continues to the back. The woman returns five minutes later and sits across from Max. Turning her attention to her new booth mate Max barely holds in the gasp that tries to escape her mouth. Sitting across from her is the same woman from the gas station. From this distance Max could see that the woman's eyes were a gray.

"Rick tells me you want to apply for the bartenders' job," the woman begins.

"Yeah," Max answers.

"I'm Helaina what's your name," Helaina offers her hand.

"Max," Max replies shaking Helaina's hand. "Max Guevera."

"Have you ever worked the bar before?" Helaina asks getting the interview started.

"No… but I'm a quick learner," Max replies quickly.

"Do you have a bartenders' license," Helaina continues.

"No," Max answers feeling like she just lost another job. During her few weeks of job searching Max discovered that most people preferred to hire individuals with work experience or even references. Max didn't have the latter and she couldn't use the job experience she acquired from delivering packages at jam pony because the company didn't exist yet.

"You have to have a bartender's license to work the bar," Helaina informs Max.

"Thanks for you time," Max replies mechanically before getting up.

"I have a friend who can help you get your license though," Helaina responds to Max's back. "He usually works the bar when I'm not here."

"I already know how to make the drinks," Max informs her. "I just need to take the test."

"Okay," Helaina says getting up. "Let me know when you have your license then we can get you started."

"Thanks," Max replies walking towards the door.

"Max," Helaina calls.

"Yes," Max replies looking at Helaina.

"Visit any gas stations lately," she asks. Max froze expression on her face was that of sheer terror. She thought she had stopped before Helaina had gotten to close.

"Just don't steal from me," Helaina replies before heading to the back. Max could only nod her head in agreement. Realizing that she still had the job once she passed the test Max smiled for the first time since landing in Angel Grove.


End file.
